LOS ANGELES, United States: The Cleveland Cavaliers boosted their NBA-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks on Friday, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display.
Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc.
Cleveland out-scored the Knicks 66-38 in the paint and held a 23-6 edge in fast-break points, pushing their lead to as many as 42 on the way to a sixth straight victory.
Evan Mobley added 21 points and Jarrett Allen scored 10 before departing in the third quarter with a right hand injury.
Cleveland guard Darius Garland took a hard fall in the first half, striking his head on the court, but stayed in the game.
Jalen Brunson scored 16 of his 26 points in the first quarter for the Knicks but was held scoreless in the second period as the Cavs roared to a 77-50 halftime lead.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 23 points for New York, who are in third place in the East but fell to 0-6 this season against the three teams with the league’s best records: Cleveland, Boston and Oklahoma City.
“I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with the fact that they could yet meet in this post-season.
“For us, it’s about how do we continue to build and get better – we may see them in the playoffs,” Mitchell said. “So we’re trying to measure ourselves, continue to do what we’ve been doing.”
It came down to the wire in Orlando, where Memphis star Ja Morant drove for a layup that tied it at 104-104 with 1:50 remaining and Desmond Bane delivered the decisive free-throw in the Grizzlies’ 105-104 victory over the Magic.
Morant scored 23 points while Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 16 apiece for the Grizzlies, with Jackson blocking a potential game-winner by Orlando’s Paolo Banchero at the buzzer.
Milwaukee’s trade-deadline acquisition Kyle Kuzma scored 19 points to lead the Bucks to a 104-101 victory over his former team, the Washington Wizards.
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was limited by foul trouble and scored 18 points before fouling out with 3:37 left to play.
Khris Middleton, who arrived in Washington in the four-team deal that sent Kuzma to Milwaukee, scored 12 points against his former team in his Wizards debut.
Down by 10 with 4:53 to play, the Wizards cut the deficit to 102-101 on Middleton’s three-pointer with 1:01 remaining.
But Brook Lopez made a pair of free-throws and blocked a Middleton layup, with Middleton coming up empty again on a last-gasp three-point attempt.
Cavaliers crush Knicks in battle of NBA East elite
https://arab.news/9dtxe
Cavaliers crush Knicks in battle of NBA East elite
- Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures
- Cleveland out-scored the Knicks 66-38 in the paint and held a 23-6 edge in fast-break points
Real Madrid, Zalgiris headline adidas NextGen EuroLeague in Abu Dhabi
- 8 top under-18 teams compete for place in Athens final in May
- Tournament is at city’s Space42 Arena from Feb. 27 to March 1
RIYADH: Abu Dhabi will have Europe’s brightest young basketball talent this week at the adidas NextGen EuroLeague tournament.
Eight of the continent’s leading under-18 teams will compete from Feb. 27 to March 1 at Space42 Arena, with a place at the finals in Athens on the line. The finals in May will be staged alongside the EuroLeague Final Four in the Greek capital.
Defending continental champions Zalgiris Kaunas and five-time title holders Real Madrid headline the Abu Dhabi qualifier, which forms part of the 2025–26 adidas NextGen EuroLeague season.
The eight teams have been divided into two groups of four and will play in a round-robin format. The winners of each group will advance to Sunday’s championship game, while placement fixtures will determine the remaining standings.
The Abu Dhabi event follows the Ulm qualifier, won by U18 Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana, who have already secured their place in Athens. The winners of upcoming tournaments in Bologna (March 13–15) and Belgrade (March 20–22) will complete the finals lineup.
Group A features Real Madrid alongside U18 Aris Thessaloniki, U18 Dubai Basketball and U18 AS Monaco.
Aris enter their third season in the competition, having finished seventh at the Munich qualifier last year with a 2–2 record after placing sixth in Abu Dhabi the previous campaign.
Dubai Basketball are also competing in their third NextGen season. The UAE side finished eighth in Ulm last year with a 0–4 record but claimed a notable win over U18 Mega Super Belgrade at the NextGen Finals.
However, they missed another victory against U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan to finish 1–2 overall. Dubai previously hosted a 2024 qualifier, ending with a 1–3 record.
Monaco make their second appearance after an eighth-place finish in Paris in 2024.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, will be aiming to reassert their dominance after an uncharacteristic third-place finish at last season’s Munich qualifier ended a streak of 11 consecutive qualifying tournament victories.
The Spanish powerhouse had also won 19 straight NextGen games dating back to the 2022 finals in Belgrade before falling to Zalgiris in the group stage last year.
Real are the competition’s most successful club with five continental titles (2015, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024) and are competing in their 19th consecutive season since 2007–08.
Group B has reigning champions Zalgiris Kaunas take on U18 London Lions, U18 Next Gen Team Abu Dhabi and U18 Valencia Basket. London Lions make their tournament debut as the club continues to expand their European presence.
The Next Gen Team Abu Dhabi compete in their fifth season and second under head coach Dogus Balbay, a two-time EuroLeague champion. He is assisted by former Italian international Massimo Bulleri and Kheeryoung Rhee.
Valencia Basket are making their 10th appearance in the competition and their eighth in succession. The Spanish side have twice reached the finals, in Vitoria-Gasteiz in 2019 and as hosts in 2021, and finished runners-up in Munich last season after three consecutive fifth-place finishes.
Zalgiris, one of the most storied names in the tournament’s history, are appearing in their 24th edition — having featured in every NextGen season since its inception.
The Lithuanian club won the inaugural event in 2003, added another title in 2007 and lifted the trophy again last summer in Abu Dhabi. They also reached the championship game in 2005, 2006 and 2011, underlining their pedigree at youth level.
